The Food Thread

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Mr.B
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Re: The Food Thread

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k9nanny wrote:If you will remember, that farm also had dead pigs in situ.
I had forgotten about that!

No, I don't go barefoot, and none of my shoes are made in China.
My favorites are made in Spain and Germany. The Keens are made in Mexico, the Tims in Vietnam.
Alright, I had to go look.... My French Shriner's aren't made in France; made in China. Black Florsheim Wing-Tips --- India, Brown Florsheim Wing-Tips --- China, two other dress shoes ---- Italy. Rest --- China. Got a pair of Reeboks and a pair of Converse All-Star high-top tennies from Vietnam.

I was looking for Mandarin oranges, and every last can and plastic cup came from China, even the allegedly organic ones.
Despite the name, they used to be imported from Spain.
As were olives. I read recently that Hawaii was overtaken years ago by China and Taiwan as pineapple kings. Rarely are pineapples found in Hawaii anymore. What a shame.

Never did I imagine I'd look for Mexican produce (if there's no USA available), but in the off season, I do.
Same here ... I was told to WASH it very well!

I do homemade chicken planks (jerky) for my dogs. The Chinese product was killing dogs, and the USA product is more expensive than making my own.
We buy our steroid-fattened chicken breasts from Sam's Club ---- rather tender, don't dry out easily.

And, gag, forget the Asian farmed seafood.
I've bought only one bag of humongous shrimp at Sam's --- found out they were farmed in Asia in a Walmart-owned farm.
If we buy shrimp, it's bought fresh from Ingle's or Harris-Teeter...the clerks have no clue where it's from, and that's OK with me!


Above all, whenever possible, we buy local, and we read labels.
Ditto. :thumbup:

Mr.B
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Re: The Food Thread

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k9nanny wrote: "My chef d'ouvre is risotto. OK- it takes a lot longer, but I get to drink wine while making it. A splash for the pot, a swallow for me."
That reminded me of this recipe for Christmas Rum Cake:

Ingredients:
1 or 2 qts. of rum
1 cup butter
1/8 tsp. sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup dried fruit
baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
lemon juice
brown sugar
nuts

Directions:
Before you start, sample the rum to check for quality.
Select a large mixing bowl, measuring cup, etc. Check the rum again. It must be just right!
To be sure the rum is of the highest quality, pour 1 level cup of rum into a glass and drink it as fast as you can. Repeat.

With an electric mixer, beat butter in large fluffy bowl. Add 1 seaspoon of thugar and beat again.
Meanshile, it’s important to make sure the rum is of the finest quality—try another cup.

Open the second quart of rum if necessary. Add 1 arge leggs, 2 cups of fried druits and beat till high.
If the druits get stuck in the beats, just pru it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the rum again for cinscistincy.

Next, sift 3 cups of salt and feffer (it really doesn’t matter). Sample the wum again.

Sift 1 pint of lemon goose, add 1 bablespoon of brown thugar, of whatever color tou can find. Mix well.
Grease oven, turn cake pan to 350 greeds.

Noe, pour the whole mess sinto the boven and ake. Check the crum again and go to bed.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

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O Really
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Re: The Food Thread

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So do you guys object to Chinese products on general principle, or for specific reasons? Certainly there are reasons not to buy products like dog food, tooth paste, or most anything else to eat because the Chinese generally agree with the US Republicans that "we don't need no regulation..." And some products are on sight poor quality. But computers and mobile phones seem about the same as anybody else's. I've had some really good indestructable Rockports likely from China. On the relatively rare occasion I have to look lawyerly, I have some Cole-Haans that may have been Chinese, too, or certainly somewhere outside US. And they've been good, too.

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Vrede too
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Re: The Food Thread

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Local production is on my list of preferences along with organic, humane animal treatment, fair labor practices, environmental responsibility, price, etc. and there are a few nations I like to support more than others, but I don't have a particular problem with China vs. many others. However, I strongly object when the NC GOP favors a foreign firm, Chinese or other nation owned, over the health, safety and quality of life of largely poor, largely nonwhite North Carolinians.
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O Really
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Re: The Food Thread

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Regarding fair labor practices, I think I tend to compare other countries not to how the employees might be treated in the US or Canada, for example, but whether they're better off with or without those jobs. I won't generally buy products from US-based companies that I find are getting all their stuff from sweat shops, but I no longer expect to be able to cover essentials if I only "look for the union label."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyuLZ1AX1hk

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Vrede too
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Re: The Food Thread

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What union label these days? I'm not an extremist on this, mostly I shun companies that have been targeted for egregious practices.

A lot of my shopping is shaped by choosing where to shop and not researching much further - thrift stores, Hendersonville Community Co-op, REI, Patagonia, etc.
Last edited by Vrede too on Fri Apr 14, 2017 3:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Mr.B
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Re: The Food Thread

Unread post by Mr.B »

O Really wrote: "But (Chinese) computers and mobile phones seem about the same..."
Have you ever taken a good look at the circuit board of an electronic product?
Try it; then you'll understand why their eyes are squinted.

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Vrede too
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Re: The Food Thread

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2CU1cdTlQE

Was lucky enough to see it live on TV in 1975, nearly fell out of my chair laughing.
Always be yourself! Unless you can be a goat, then always be a goat.
-- the interweb, paraphrased
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O Really
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Re: The Food Thread

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Vrede too wrote:What union label these days? I'm not an extremist on this, mostly I shun companies that have been targeted for egregious practices.
In the late 70's, about 56% of apparel in in the US was union made domestically. Now it's less than 7%.
Of course, speaking of egregious practices, remember that "Norma Rae" was real. (but she didn't look like Sally Fields)

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Vrede too
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Re: The Food Thread

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Other than specialty outdoor gear, about 100% of my apparel comes from thrift stores, and only a smallish percentage of donations to thrift stores makes it onto the racks. The rest goes overseas or is made into rags. The amount of needless waste for fashion or whatever is disgusting.
Always be yourself! Unless you can be a goat, then always be a goat.
-- the interweb, paraphrased
1312. ETTD.

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O Really
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Re: The Food Thread

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Vrede too wrote:
Was lucky enough to see it live on TV in 1975, nearly fell out of my chair laughing.
:lol: :lol: I remember that! What's more, when that came out, I would have been willing to bet a lot that surely by 1985, pot would be legal all over the country. Little did I know that it would be a bit longer. :cry:

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Vrede too
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Re: The Food Thread

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Some people that supposedly care about "life" think that the problem with factory farm emissions are just a matter of an annoying odor.

Court Orders EPA to Close Loophole, Factory Farms Required to Report Toxic Pollution
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billy.pilgrim
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Re: The Food Thread

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O Really wrote:
Vrede too wrote:What union label these days? I'm not an extremist on this, mostly I shun companies that have been targeted for egregious practices.
In the late 70's, about 56% of apparel in in the US was union made domestically. Now it's less than 7%.
Of course, speaking of egregious practices, remember that "Norma Rae" was real. (but she didn't look like Sally Fields)

Off topic
Norma Rae was filmed a few miles from my home. I tried out, along with most of Auburn and Opelika, to be an extra. I suspect the times weren't quite ready for alabama to have an overall wearing hippie with waist length hair working at the mill.

The little 400 SF mill homes outside the gates of the Pepperill Mill were occupied by mill workers before the movie and still occupied by mill workers after the movie.

I haven't driven by it in years, but I'm sure it has long been shuttered. Not even near slave labor can compete with slave labor.
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k9nanny
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Re: The Food Thread

Unread post by k9nanny »

O Really wrote:So do you guys object to Chinese products on general principle, or for specific reasons? Certainly there are reasons not to buy products like dog food, tooth paste, or most anything else to eat because the Chinese generally agree with the US Republicans that "we don't need no regulation..." And some products are on sight poor quality. But computers and mobile phones seem about the same as anybody else's. I've had some really good indestructable Rockports likely from China. On the relatively rare occasion I have to look lawyerly, I have some Cole-Haans that may have been Chinese, too, or certainly somewhere outside US. And they've been good, too.
Food is my biggie. I've read too much about hinky additives.
My litany of shoes was a response to MrB's barefoot comment. Also, MrB, I buy Kalamata olives only. They are the best, and they will cure hemorrhoids.

At Ingles, the Carolina shrimp is clearly marked. It's way more expensive, and worth every penny.
We could probably cut our food budget in half. We avoid overly processed foods, which are often less expensive. For instance, don't even think about bringing a bag of shredded mozzarella into my house. Why the hell does anybody want "low moisture" mozzarella?
Vrede too wrote:Other than specialty outdoor gear, about 100% of my apparel comes from thrift stores, and only a smallish percentage of donations to thrift stores makes it onto the racks. The rest goes overseas or is made into rags. The amount of needless waste for fashion or whatever is disgusting.
My clothes are generally worn to the rag stage. I probably buy fewer clothes than 99% of the women in Henderson County, and, other than Carolina and German Shepherd t-shirts, most are from thrift stores. You are spot on about the waste. My mother-in-law used to run a clothes closet to help women look good for job interviews, and the amount of donated clothing that had never been worn was unbelievable. We are indeed a culture of excess.
Se Non Ora, Quando?

Mr.B
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Re: The Food Thread

Unread post by Mr.B »

k9nanny wrote:"My litany of shoes was a response to MrB's barefoot comment."
I know; just messin' with you. :D

"... MrB, I buy Kalamata olives only. They are the best, and they will cure hemorrhoids."
Never cared too much for them, although they're OK on a pizza.
Never had the 'rhoids either. Used to hear my Grandpa cuss "them damn piles" when I was a kid.


"At Ingles, the Carolina shrimp is clearly marked. It's way more expensive, and worth every penny."
You know it! I prefer the fresh over frozen, but don't buy unless I know it's origin.

"For instance, don't even think about bringing a bag of shredded mozzarella into my house. Why the hell does anybody want "low moisture" mozzarella?"
From Google: "According to the FDA, low moisture mozzarella must have a moisture content in the 45 to 52% range, while regular mozzarella can be as much as 60% water—sometimes even higher if you buy it from a specialty shop that still spins by hand. As for flavor, low-moisture mozzarella is saltier and denser."
I like mozzarella in any form; and I shred my own in a Salad Shooter. Less expensive than store-bought; and you can control how much you need.

Vrede too wrote:"..... about 100% of my apparel comes from thrift stores..."
"I probably buy fewer clothes than 99% of the women in Henderson County, and, other than Carolina and German Shepherd t-shirts, most are from thrift stores."
My wife and I are thrift-store junkies as well; but we've had to weed out a few of our favs due to finding carpet beetles in some of the clothes we've bought. Also, Goodwill is entirely off the list for clothes. Their stores smell pissy, and most of the poor folks that work there don't know women's pants from men's pants and they size 'em Small, Medium, and Large when they hang them on the racks.

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O Really
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Re: The Food Thread

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Lady O and I eat fresh and local to the extent reasonably possible. On the occasion we need something canned, we look over the ingredients closely and get the no- or low-sodium versions. Remarkable what extras they put into stuff now, though, between the chemicals and the extra protein...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/10/busi ... .html?_r=0

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Vrede too
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Re: The Food Thread

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billy.pilgrim wrote:... Norma Rae was filmed a few miles from my home. I tried out, along with most of Auburn and Opelika, to be an extra. I suspect the times weren't quite ready for alabama to have an overall wearing hippie with waist length hair working at the mill....
I was an extra in Final Analysis (1992), it was filmed at my hospital. I never made it to the final cut. I think it's because I'm so damned pretty that Richard Gere would have been shamed, and my absence is clearly why the movie sucked. Even if I was in the movie I wouldn't do it again, too much standing around doing nothing. No, I never even saw 39 year old Kim Basinger or 22 year old Uma Thurman.
Always be yourself! Unless you can be a goat, then always be a goat.
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Vrede too
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Re: The Food Thread

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Always be yourself! Unless you can be a goat, then always be a goat.
-- the interweb, paraphrased
1312. ETTD.

JTA
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Re: The Food Thread

Unread post by JTA »

Image

Recipe:

Water
Pack of ramen noodles
Thyme
Oregano
Garlic powder
Cilantro.
You aren't doing it wrong if no one knows what you are doing.

Mr.B
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Re: The Food Thread

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JTA wrote:
Recipe:

Water
Pack of ramen noodles
Thyme
Oregano
Garlic powder
Cilantro.
Looks good ... maybe a bit chewy?

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